First Contact
by Follower38
Summary: With the finale of the events on Char. The Dominion is in disarray as more systems slips through its fingers. But a new faction has come to the Koprulu Sector. And they are the Emperor's Hand. WIP for summ., title and story
1. Prologue

First Contact

Unknown Planet: 8 years after the events of Char

**Planet side: Terran military outpost**

"WHERE IS THAT AIR SUPPORT?" The terran marine raised his gauss rifle and began firing from out of the bunker. The micro-accelerators in firing ports further accelerating the depleted Uranium-238 ammunition. "Enemy air approaching out position, we are done to our last siege tank! We need air support now!" The marine locked out the bunker back toward the base, where their last siege tank was deployed in siege mode. Its 180mm cannons firing upon the enemy. It was surrounded by the burning husks of its fellow tanks. The Imperials had some sort sniper tank. It took them out before they could re-orient their cannons. Luckily, or unluckily, the max range of both the Crucio siege tank and the enemy tank seemed to be equal. Now though, the only defense for the terran outpost was a single tank, a handful of marines in bunkers, a few perdition and missile turrets and the planetary fortress. What Predator anti-infantry units they had, were sent out.

Now though, the enemy force was approaching their position. It would only be a matter of time before they were overrun. Earlier in the conflict, in straight-up infantry clashes and light armor, the terrans possessed the advantage.

Then came in their air force and heavy armor; those proved to be more than a match for the terrans. Even the Thors were outmatched if the enemy came in force. Even their four 330-mm cannons had some trouble punching through the armor of those massive four-legged walkers, their six-legged walkers, though smaller, had a cannon that could punch through Thor armor.

That wasn't the worst of it. The worst was their air fleet. It's bad enough for bombers to drop munitions on you, buts its worse when they strike from orbit. Their capital ships, the three different classes could all turn a planet's surface into slag in hours. Only the Protoss could do that with their energy weapons in the Koprulu sector.

Now though, back on the battlefield, the marines, marauders, and even the odd reaper were all firing their weapons out the gun ports of their bunkers or behind a barricade. The weapons fire, the clattering of shells upon shells as they were ejected from their weapons, the hissing and humming as the medics and medevac air ships healed the soldiers. Along with resounding thunder of the one siege tank.

"Come on, come one. Where are they?" Lieutuant Colonel Gulot gritted through his teeth. He had called in for air support two hours ago once he saw the enemy walkers and their tanks began getting sniped by a laser cannon. "We can't hold out for much longer." *CLACK* His rifle empty, he ejected the magazine and was about to load another one when a massive shadow came over him. He was cheering before he was even turning, as was the rest of the defenders. Everyone recognized the shadow of a battlecruiser. But the cherr died as quickly as it came. The belly guns were silent as all the attention of the battlecruiser was focused in the skies. The cruiser was being swarmed by the enemy fighters and interceptors. Their numbers were being wittled down but were still doing damage. Parts of the mighty vessel were alight.

The colonel touched his comm. unit, "Battlecruiser, this is Colonel Gulot! We are in need of air support can you assist?"

"Negative negative! Unless you can get some of these fighters off of us-"

"CONSIDER IT DONE! MARINES! OPEN FIRE ON THOSE SHIPS!" With that order the skies were filled with U-238 rounds. The missile turrets began locking on and firing their payloads.

And this was battle they could not lose.

**Orbit: Hyperion: Bridge**

The bridge shudder as it took a cannon round. "Status!" XO Matthew Horner ordered.

"Sir, shields are holding but the other cruisers are starting to take hits. The _Titan_ is at 50% hull integrity, they've lost half their laser batteries and got one shot in for their Yamato cannon!"

"Damn it, I knew it was too easy." They thought they had gotten the drop on the Imperial navy. Their flagship, the _Eternal_ was across several systems, beyond the range to do any good. For what reason they didn't know, nor did they really care. Raynor had sent a team of Ghosts and Spectres to gather intel on what they were doing.

When they came into the system, their fleet of 8 battle groups of 5 battlecruisers each opened fire on the enemy ships. They had destroyed three of their more powerful ships. But only with their Yamatos and at the cost of several Vikings that had intercepted the enemies' fire.

Soon after they had lost three battlecruisers to what they called the Type-1s, their frigates if how they used them were any indication, but they had massive firepower. A single volley of energy torpedoes had shredded the terran ships' armor. 5 hits and a cruiser fell. Though they couldn't stand up to two shots from Yamato cannons. Horner watched as one of their Type-1sThe triangular ships cracked from stem to stern from a Yamato shot from the Beelzebub. Before he could enjoy the small victory, the bridge shook, almost knocking the XO off balance. This was his other problem.

"Damn it, someone get that cruiser off of us!" A single cruiser had been decimating their ships. Pulling alongside them where the least amount of the laser batteries of the Terran Battlecruisers could target them. But the enemy cruisers had multiple guns. This variant: the type-2 had 8 massive guns on the top, several dozen AA batteries and internal side cannons. Those internal cannons had been wreaking havoc. Rather than lasers, they fired plasma charges.

And if something didn't happen soon, this counterattack would be over before it truly began. And the war against the Galactic Empire will truly begin.

A/N: This is obviously a pilot/test chapter. Just an idea I had some time back. Depending on what the response is, this will be one of 4 stories I will be working on all at the same time with what little free time I will direct to writing. Those four stories being:

Mass Effect: inFamous, a crossover story of where the Mass Effect Universe is the future of the inFamous universe.

Mass Effect: inFamous; Kuo's Story, Kuo's story of her time in the Mass Effect Universe until the arrival of Cole MacGrath and her capture.

Mass Effect: New Arrivals, an original character story, where his reality is completely the same as ours to around 2012, except Bioware never made Mass Effect period. This is NOT a self-insert type story. This will also be a crossover type story, with characters that have not or rarely used in a FF with ME. IE, Metro 2033, Chronicles of Riddick, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, etc.

First Contact: Starcraft/Starwars crossover.


	2. One Story Ends, Another Begins

First Contact: Ch. 1

5 years prior to events of Prologue.

Kuat Drive Yards SpaceYards

Admiral Walsh Kaldon looked out from the bridge of his new command, the behemoth that was _the Eternal_. The single ship of its class, it was truly a marvel. At 6 times the length of the aging Venator-class star destroyers and another four and another half its width, along with its defenses and internal foundries, the massive ship was literally an armed flying factory. Hell, its three berths for the latest Imperator-class star destroyers were basically attached ship yards. The Admiral gazed upon his still incomplete ship in appreciation. Millions of loyal workers were in the process of constructing the massive vessel. No slaves or forced labor was to be used on this achievement. Failure was not an option. He doubted that this massive vessel would have even been contemplated for construction had it not been the discovery made by Imperial Scientists on the Far Rim, close to the Unknown Regions.

Some time ago, a survey team had found a planet in the outer edges of the Far Rim. It had little vegetation or wild life. But there were pockets and clusters of crystals jutting out from the earth. Some were small patches, about the area of a small crate at around 2ft by 3ft at 2ft tall; others were massive, towering a few dozen feet tall over spread over several hundred yards. Not to mention the geysers that spewed volatile and toxic green gas. The survey team requested a research team after they had experimented fueling one of their smaller generators with the gas. The generator ran on Tibanna gas, good for several days of power nonstop. Provided it was to objects proportionate to its size. With the new gas, the generator, which was about 3 feet tall, kept their camp running for several weeks. Even when all the other generators that still used Tibanna gas had died out. As for the minerals, they were not what they first seemed.

Few knew how, but it seemed that the minerals could be melted down with other compounds, specifically metal alloys. The melted down minerals took on the attributes of the alloys they were melted down with. And the amount needed of the original material was incredibly small. The only real drawback being that for every batch of material needed an amount of the material it was replicating. Using an already replicated material in a new process to create another batch wouldn't work. Ie, plastoid armor could be made with 5 units of plastoid material made from scratch and 50 units of minerals melted down for dozens of suits of armor. However the first 5 units have to be made with the original process. The process would not work with 5 units of replicated plastoid mixed with 50 units of minerals. The result would just be sludge of minerals, ready for replication.

Though it was not always necessary as the minerals themselves when melted down provided a strong alloy, with the only problem being: properly forging the melted mineral alloy into a useable form. It was a tricky process as the slightest error could change a batch of star destroyer quality armor, to that only useable for a speeder bike: light, but not offering much in the way of protection. And vice versa. 'By the Emperor, that was an embarrassment.' The admiral thought as he remembered the first test of pure mineral based armor.

Some months ago, during the first test of the armor, a TX-130T tank had been outfitted with the new plating derived purely from the minerals. It proved more durable then the armor applied prior. So much so that the Emperor ordered a number of them to be sent to quell a new uprising near the Outer Rim. However, someone had either tampered with or erred on the alloy batch used for the plating of those tanks. The results had been humiliating and disastrous. The tanks were sent first to assault an enemy position, believing their armor would stand up to whatever anti-armor weapons the enemy had. They didn't need them. The tanks' plating had been so weak that a bolt from a blaster rifle was enough to tear through the armor. And the enemy had heavy repeater turrets. More than a few emplaced LS-150 Heavy Accelerated Charge Particle Repeater turrets. The tanks were destroyed the moments they were seen.

Needless to say, the Emperor had not been pleased.

Still, the value of such resources could not be undervalued. The planet had been stripped for the gas and minerals it possessed. It gave the Imperial economy funds needed to bring the galaxy to its pre-war state and at the same time, continue the existence of its massive army and navy.

That was the reason for the _Eternal_'s construction. A small data cache had been found on the planet. A crystal, eerily similar to the holocrons of the jedi and sith, but different; it gave off an uneasy aura. Whatever it was, it gave them coordinates to a system in the Unknown Regions. Far inside the regions, where, according to the logs, rich patches of minerals and geysers of the gas existed on a number of planets. The _Eternal_ was to be the flagship of an expeditionary fleet to enter the Region, find the system, and claim it for the Empire. But the _Eternal _would not be on its own. Though lacking data, the crystal provided details of two races in the region: one of incredible technological prowess, able to turn a planet to slag faster than the Empire ever could. The other: of evolutionary terror and wonder, consuming all in its path. Both had conquered numerous systems, either overrunning the planets, or burning them to ash in their genocidal war against each other. The fleet would consist of the flagship, 25 Imperial-II star destroyers, another 50 of the aging Venator –class Capital ships, and dozens of Acclamator-class ships. The fleets of the Clone Wars were slowly being phased out, the ships that were to be assigned to the expedition were planned to be phased out by the time the _Eternal _was ready for duty. Barring the Imperial-IIs.

What truly gave him pause though were some of the weapon systems that would be given to the expedition. Both her crew and the _Eternal. _

The Emperor had given them prototypes; both copies of designs and the weapons themselves, both infantry and heavy armor. Some had not even been tested yet.

Not to mention the crew, of the vast majority of which were clones, a good number were from famous, ('or was it now infamous?' the admiral mused,) divisions of the clone armies. Such as a contingent from the 'pure' 501st, or as they had started to become known as "Vader's Fist", the 7th Sky Division and its commander CC-2224, or "Cody", a large contigent of the Galactic Marines and its commander, CC-1138 "Bacara", and several other well-known corps. That alone was a shocking fact to the new admiral, for such divisions and commanders to be placed under his command. There were even rumors that some members of the infamous Advanced Recon Commandos and squads of Clone Commandos would be on this mission. If they were he was glad to have them. He knew of the general reputation of both groups. Highly effective, highly lethal. The best of the best. They were trained by Jango Fett himself and the Alpha-Class ARC troopers or by mercenaries hand-picked by Fett, respectively. "I remember someone once called them 'Death on Legs'." The admiral muttered, lost in thought.

The ship itself was armed with the greatest arsenal they could give her. The minerals and their replicative abilities making all it possible. From the 7 turbolaser batteries on each side, to the dozens of point defense cannons littering her hull to defend against enemy fighters and bombers, adding to her arsenal was the line of guns lining the left and right sides of the ship for Capital Ship combat. Standard armament on all ships since the Battle of Coruscant where a Venator used its guns to great effect against Grevious's flagship.

The Emperor's personal addition was what gave him pause though for what may lie ahead. When it came to weapons and such, the Emperor was near prophetic. Knowing what the Republic needed and commissioning it for the Grand Army before it was called for. If they needed weapon of such scale…

He shuddered at the implications.

But now as he stood on bridge of his next command, he looked at his homeworld of Kuat, where the massive vessel was being built in its titanic orbital shipyards. He couldn't help but feel proud of what his planet would accomplish, nor ignore the feeling of trepidation that with each day that came closer, the sooner he would leave his home. Perhaps permanently.

**Koprulu Sector: Char system: Battlecruiser Hyperion**

In orbit over the planet Char**

5 days after the activation of the Xel'Naga artifact.

James Raynor, ex-marshall of Mar Sara, once commander under rebel leader Arctururs Mengsk, and leader of the rebels against the Terran Dominion: Raynor's Raiders; fell into his chair in his private quarters. It had been 5 days since the events on Char. Five days since he and the men and women beside him fought to hold off the Zerg swarm till the device was fully charged. Five days since Kerrigan, Queen of Blades was turned back into a human. Five days since he had killed his once closest friend, Tychus Findley.

And now, he finds himself in control of the single largest armada second only to the entire combined firepower of the Terran Dominion. And even that as he watched the UNN report, was falling. Someone had broadcast the events on Char, "Junior, most likely." And now, a great number of the planets under the Dominion's thumb were coming free. Many of the outer planets were in open revolts. Declaring themselves independent of any other government other than their own. Which each planet that rose up, more followed in their wake.

Now the Dominion was stuck to where it's military presence was strongest: where the greatest number of re-socialized troops were present.

Yet even with all that happened, James Raynor, hero of the Koprulu sector, ender of the Queen of Blades, finds himself in his personal quarters. Holding in his hand the last picture of Sarah Kerrigan, before she was taken by the Overmind.

A hard metal tapping came from the door. "Raynor, you in there?" the rough voice of the now ex-Dominion general came through the door. After the events of Char, in which it was the larger Dominion, but rather Raynor who saved him and his men, the General had cut off all ties with the Dominion, as did all his men. Whether they were of the re-soc variety or not. Only one had refused, and that was from PTSD. Of course, that was not before he stripped the Dominion for all he could. "Severance and Hazard pay" he called it. "Ray- Jim, the men out here, they're starting to worry." The old general sighed, he had a great respect for the man, but sometime he was just too difficult. "It's been five days since you brought _her_ up here and learned that she fell into a coma. You XO, Matt was the kid's name? He and I have been trying to keep order here but damn it. They need you out here. Without you everyone's morale is dropping like a stone. They're all still on a combat high but they need you. And damn it, if you don't get out here, I'm having that Spectre of yours dragging your lazy ass out here!" He slammed his fist into the door with a resounding clang coming from his metal prosthetic hitting the door before marching off toward the Bridge, each step resounding with a heavy clank.

But the man's word were in vain. The only thing that would end this phase would be the one who he left behind. The one that he that he still loves today: "Sarah."

**Engineering Bay**

Stetman was trying to distract himself by examining the secondary tanks filled with zerg bio samples and Protoss relics. These had been established at the end of the Campaign on Char. The Raiders had already gathered a great deal of research material on both the Protoss and the Zerg, granting them several upgrades. At the conclusion of Char, the opportunity of some much Zerg material and Protoss relics that the now ex-Queen of Blades had collected, was too good to pass up. Which is why secondary tanks for the materials had been brought it.

And already had there been some results: the new material allowed Stetman to research all the other upgrades they had been denied from earlier. Now they had hardened bunkers with Shrike turrets, both, tech reactors and cheap orbital drop pods, automated refineries and drop depots. And it didn't stop there. Now we was finding new strains of Zerg DNA and the Protoss energy sphere was giving off much more encoded information.

Still despite all this, Stetman was worried. He had seen in his commander in action before. Both from helmet feeds and in person when they had gone underground to destroy the Nydus work network. No matter what attacked them in the tunnels, Raynor held fast. Taking down the zerg with unflinching anger. He never hesitated, and showed great faith in his men.

Now though, to see his commander in such a state unnerved him. The only thing he could do now is to unlock the potential of the Protoss and Zerg, and prepare for the coming war.

**Hyperion: Engineering Bay**

Rory Swann was looking over the upgrades Stetman had recently made to his vehicles. The bio-steel was turning out to be useful, thankfully though, it had not been necessary in the battle of Char. "Come on buddy, pull yourself together will you?" Swann muttered under his breath. His work was only so he could take his mind of the man who he considered a brother.

When Swann first joined up with Raynor, he only expected to fight against the Dominion, plain and simple. And now look, he was in charge of some THE most advanced gear in the sector. Upgrades purchased from dozens of contractors throughout the sector, tech derived from the Zerg genome and Protoss knowledge. Hell, he'd been jumping for joy when Stetman had mentioned the windfall from Char.

All that was the furthest from his mind though, the only thing that would cure his ills would be for the commander to get back to normal.

"Damn, right now, I even wish Tycus or that ghost was around."

**Hyperion: Bridge**

There are few faces that can't be mistaken for anything else. One of them is regret. And Matt Horner, XO of the Hyperion Battlecruiser was a man torn. He was proud to be part of the Raiders, having finally ended the threat of the Queen of Blades. But he regretted the harsh words between him and his CO before the events of Char.

**Events after Mission renamed: Supernova**

Raynor had made a deal with Valerian. They work together, the Raider retrieve the rest of the artifacts, Valerian assembles them, and get rid of the Queen of Blades.

Which was a damn SUICIDE MISSION if there ever was one.

"Sir tell me you're not seriously considering this deal with Mensk?"

The commander responded in the affirmative and when Tychus added his opinion, the heir lost his self-control and better judgment.

"Assualting Char is a suicide mission! You'd be putting all our lives on the line just to get your girlfriend back!"

"This is bigger than all of Matt!" Raynor yelled back, "It ain't about me. This is the only real chance we're going to get. And I'm taking it."

**Present Day**

And here he was, at the head of the flagship of their rag tag fleet. All of them ready to fight against Mensk. He sighed, "I'm going to apologize sooner or later. But for now, I'll make sure we're ready for the next war." He began looking through the star charts. Searching for worlds where they could harvest minerals and vespene from. Despite what resources were recovered from the Swarm, it was better suited for experimentation as the majority was in the process for usage by the Zerg.

One planet caught his eye. It was in a system on the fringes of the sector. Beyond it even. But the surveys of the planet marked it as incredibly rich. It had vast mineral patches, from standard to the high yields, vespene geysers and energized vespene. 'Interesting, but why was it never harvested, let alone settled.' The next page on the planet answered that. Distance. It was too far for most vessels. Even a battlecruiser in warp would have a time approaching the system. At least, that's how it was 90 years ago. The survey teams and any subsequent arrivals died on the planet trapped as it was near impossible to cultivate on the planet. Now though, warp engines had far greater power and range then before. Now the only reason it wasn't claimed was that it was largely forgotten.

Horner marked the coordinates and prepped them to be sent to every ship in the area, but held off the order. Now, he would trust his commander totally. He would always have his brother's back until the end.

A/N: Please review. This is a series that's been bumping around in my head for a bit. The Galactic Empire in a war with the Terrans of the Koprulu sector. Both technologically advanced in their own right, and having survived through multiple wars. It a matchup of tech vs tech.

Also, for those of you who say the _Eternal,_ seems to be overpowered versus the terran ships. Keep in mind the Galactic Empire is sending out an expedition so they would bring as much firepower as they can as they would have to entirely self-sufficient. While the terrans essentially have the homefield advantage: They know how to fight, how to be independent, to establish bases for conflict. And they know the enemy in the sector. The Imperials are going to have to learn. And it will cost them.


	3. AN Hiatus

Hiatus

Going on a hiatus for a while. No idea how long. Just, just not feeling the spirit right now to write. Feeling less and less inclined to write and can't think of what to write.

Will pick up the work later but for now.

I'm MIA.

I'm sorry.


	4. We Move Now

Ch 2:

AN: Yeah, sorry guys, it's late but been working on several projects and hitting writers block for all. I'm going to go with dividing chapter between the two sides. Let me what you think. Also, sorry its so short, will try and make next one several K words.

"And so it begins…"

Kuat Drive Yards: Orbital Shipyards: Imperial new Stalwart-command Ship: "The Eternal"

"Prepare to leave dry dock." Admiral Kaldon ordered.

"Sir, prepping release of docking clamps." An ensign responded. Outside the ship, massive clamps that secure an Acclamator-class assault vessel, and hold it in place at full speed began to detach from the behemoth vessel. After several years the ship was finally complete. The ship was now no longer simple a space-borne factory, but a barracks, a farm, and a home. Though the majority of soldiers and pilots were clones of the infamous Mandolrian bounty hunter Jango Fett, a good number were from new batches cloned from other templates, along with recruited soldiers and officers. With the vast majority of those non-clones on this trip all volunteers. This was not only to be an expedition, but also an attempt at colonization. As such, hundreds of volunteers of the nonmilitary identities were on the expedition. Scientists, botanist, psychologist, teachers, farmers, many were eager to serve the empire and create a new home. And those who were not of the clone variety, the majority had brought along members of their families.

The _Eternal_ was still officially a military vessel, but now it was host to several thousands of noncombatants and civilians.

"All these lives now lie on me." The admiral snorted. "No pressure then, huh?" As the massive vessel engaged its 14 massive nacelles of its engines and began moving out of the shipyard, hardly a tremor was felt. "Give me a status report."

Engines: Green

Life Support: Green.

Engineering: Green.

Hangars and airlocks: secured.

A thousand other checks of the ship's infrastructure went underway. There could be no mistakes. One error and it could compound quickly; resulting in either disaster or delay. As each report was called out, the _Eternal_ began moving into position within the expedition fleet. At least 6 dozen Acclamators made up the other layers of the fleet. Followed by another 50 of the Venator-class star destroyers. And the _Eternal'_s personal guard, 8 brand new Imperator-class Star Destroyers.

But there was no fanfare. No cameras. No hundreds of press vessels and camera droids flying around the fleet. No reporters clamoring on the bridge for questions and answers. This entire operation was to be conducted in secret. Unless bringing someone into the crew, dissemination of information was punishable by death. If it was a success, it would be reported throughout the Empire and beyond. If it was a failure, their loss would not affect the Empire greatly. "For the Emperor." The Kaldon whispered. He was the first of the volunteers when the plan was first proposed after the data cache's discovery. The a good part of the crew was, but there were still some who were forced into the operation. The operation may have been quiet for the most part, but something of this scale there would inevitably some leaks. He sighed, wondering how everyone felt about this: to go so far away from what was familiar and go on what may be very well a suicide mission. As he looked around his bridge, a hybrid between what was on the new Imperator-Class star destroyers and the Venators, he saw the nervousness of the newer recruits manning the comm. stations and the navigation arrays. The hardened faces of the veterans, both clones and non-clones, as they ordered lower rank sailors and received reports from below deck. And the unreadable expressions of the troopers on deck, both helmeted noncoms and officers. But there was one common thing in all of them: fear. Fear they wouldn't make it back, fear that they would fail, the fear that this entire journey would all be for nothing. And if this is how the Bridge deck officers felt, how would the civilians be faring?

He moved to the nearest comm. officer, a young man of Junior Lieutenant Rank. He stiffened when the Admiral placed a hand on his soldier. "Easy son, you worried?"

The Lt. shook his head, "No sir," At the Admiral's skeptical look, he looked down and answered, "Yes, sir."

"At east soon, we may be the Emperor's might, but this is my ship. Go ahead, tell me what's worrying you?"

"I-" the lieutenant took a breath, "I'm worried sir, for my family."

"Your family?" He raised an eyebrow, "I'm sure they'll be fine."

"It's not that sir, all of us; my family that is, is on this vessel. I'm just thinking, 'will I be able to do my job? To keep them safe? Will this journey be our salvation or our end?' Many of our family were Jedi sir, before they betrayed us. And the rest of us were Republic Navy. Now sir, I'm only wondering: are we being sent to our deaths?"

Kaldon understood his fear. Many on the expedition had families with Jedi in their history, or knew of one at least closely. Even his own had some Jedi in him: every single one of his family who entered a field pertaining to leadership or military soared. They could rally anyone to their cause, invigorate them to act. Or bring an open mind and send things into directions never thought of before. Some had joked they were of the bloodline of either the Prodigal Jedi Master Revan or his apprentice: "The Exile". In truth, each every one of them was selected for their exceptional skill. If the garbled records of the two races were anything to go by, they would need every single last man.

"I understand son, and believe me when I say, we're not." He moved back to the front of the Command Deck, "Open a comm. line, ship-wide and fleet wide broadcast."

Straighting the officer replied, "Yes sir," tapping a flurry of commands before saying, "Comm. line open, the fleet is listening sir."

"Thank you." He cleared his throat and began,

"Ladies and Gentleman, today marks the beginning of the greatest expedition in the history of the Republic."

**_Eternal_: Barracks: Civilian section**

A family of five are huddled together in their room, the parents comforting the children as the admiral began his speech.

"I know many of you are scared. Of what there will be in the Unknown. Will we survive, will be return home to the worlds we know and the comforts we enjoy?"

On the bridge of every ship across the fleet, the men and women stop to listen.

"Never before has anything been attempted what we are setting out to achieve. Never before have this opportunity been granted. To explore the unknown and see new worlds and new stars." On the hangar deck of an Acclamator, Squads of Republic Commandos band together. "Our fleet may be the only ones to come with us, but remember, we are not alone. We can rely on each other. From the marine standing by our side, both the veteran who we have a thousand battles together and the new recruits only recently coming to us. To the engineers and scientists, who we trust to ensure the strength our ships. And the civilians who have joined us on our expedition. There are no more boundaries, no more divisions. From this point on, we are all of one family. Vode an."

Men and women, soldiers and civilians, marines and sailors, all look at each and a silent bond is formed. "For we can not be divided, where we go, we need all our strength. Each and every single one of us was chosen and accepted for what we can to do. We are the best of the best. And we will not fail in our duty, we will succeed." A cheer roars throughout the Fleet, their spirits strong, their faith strengthened, they fear what is to come, but all will charge it head on, and stand together as one.

Back on the bridge of the Eternal, there was only one thing left to say.

"Helmsman, take the Fleet into Hyperspace."

And the Fleet, in a move unprecedented in recorded history, jumped to the unknown.


	5. AN: Update Poll

Right, due to the fact that I now have too many stories in progress. Alone with an anonymous reviewer calling himself "a fan" who, although I am grateful someone enjoys one of my stories to such a degree, I DO NOT like being ordered to update a certain story and disregard another. That being said, I am now hosting a poll of which up to three votes can be cast per person for which story should be updated next. Note there is a coming update for New Arrivals V2 regardless. This poll is for the story after. The top three will the ones I focus most of my writing on. That is not to say my life or all my free time. I do have a social life and school life.

The poll will be up for an undecided amount of time, until which the majority of my stories are on hiatus. Work will continue, just posting will be delayed.

Sorry for any disappoints but I realize I am stretching myself too thin and need my readers' opinions. Also, sorry but anyone is going to complain about this poll, you can blame the guy who tried to order me in what to write.

Edit: Poll is on my profile page.


End file.
